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G. P. BOSWORTH. I STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE FOR MAKING ANTIRAVEL'ING COURSES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I3, NUS/RENEWED DEC- 22, I91?- 1,377,460, Patented May 10, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

L$ N I @I Inventor.-

STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE FOR MAKING ANTIRAVELING COURSES.

P.' BOSW ORTH.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I3, I9I5- RENEWED DEC. 22. I9I7. 1,377,460.

Patented May 10, 1921. I

3 $HEET$$HEET 2.

Inventor,-

George R 08100 ZMgQW/M ay w G. P. 'BOSWORTH. STOCKING KNITTING MACHINE FOR MAKING ANTIRAVELING COURSES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB I3. I9I5- RENEWED DEC- 22.19I7. 1,377,460.

fizventor;

ye P Bosworth, 2m; Q/QS/Wl Patented May 10, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHET 3- I Gear 5 ,d W Z! UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE r. BOSWORTI-I, OF CENTRAL FALLS, nnonn ISLAND, AssIeNon, BYMESNE I ASSIGNMENTS, TO HEMPHILL COMPANY, OF CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND i A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

STOCKING-KNITTING MACHINEIFOR MAKING ANTIRAVELING coUItsEs.

7 Specification of Letters Patent. Pzttejitetl May 10, 1921' Application filed February 13, 1915, Serial No. 8,011. Renewed December 22, 1917. Serial No 530 To all a; 1 mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnoncn P. BOSWORTH, citizen of the United States, residing at Central Falls, Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stocking-Knitting Machines for Making Antiraveling Courses, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide means for producing a course of knitting in a stocking leg to prevent raveling below the point where this course is thrown in, say, about at the top of the calf.

The invention is capable, however, of other uses, and it will be understood therefore that the invention is not limited to' the production of the specific fabric mentioned.

My invention, while shown in connection with a hosiery machine of'the type known as the Banner made under United States Letters Patent of Hemphill, #933,443, September 7, 1909, is not limited in its applica tion to a machine of this make.

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which i V Figure 1 is a developed View of'the needle cams, and the needles and jacks.

Fig. 2 illustrates long and short butt needles and a jack, a sister each of which is employed in this machine.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view of the machine with the parts set for performing ordinary plain knitting, this view being difierent from Fig. 1 in this respect in'tha't in Fig. 1 the cams arefset to make the special course to prevent raveling.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic viewshowing one of the cams with the connections for automatically adjusting the same and the connections for controlling the yarn feed.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the needle lifting cam whichis active during heel'and toe work. i

Fig. 6 shows long and short butt needles alternate ones of which in the needle circle are provided with long tails instead of being operated by jacks.

Fig. 7 is a View of part of a needle cylinder with a needle cam and one of the long tail needles which cooperate therewith.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the stocking produced by my invention.

In application for Letters Patent of the United States filed by me August 31, 1914,

#859,492,I disclose means for making a non-ravehng course by advancing every other needle to knit while the other needles are heldretracted in a low plane, and thus are prevented fromtakingthe yarn, these needles simply. holding their stitches during this round, after which these needles'are' brought into work again and knitting of the ordinary fabric is continued on all the needlesto form the stocking in the usual way. In my present invention themother needles which donot knit are controlled to e I make tuck stitched e In the drawings, 1 isthe needle cylinder which. rotates in thedirection of the arrow. The needles are in two sets, one set oflong butts .a and one set of short butts I), each set occupying one-half of the needle circle.

Narrowing picks are shown at 2, widening picks at '3, stitch cams at 4, 4, guard cam at 5, instep cam at 6, and instep lowering cam at 6, all as in ordinary practice in the machines of the Banner type.

In knitting a stocking .on my machine the.

gartertop and the upperpart ofthe leg are made in the ordinary way to the point at or above the calfof the leg at which it is desired to stop raveling should this occur, so that if ravelin will be stoppe here and prevented from going below this point. I i

In order to provide a course of knitting at the desired point to arrest or stop raveling, I employ a cam arrangement which will divide the, needles, allowing every other needle throughoutthe needle circle to knit while the, other needles are advanced only far enough'to take the yarn but not far enough to get their old loopsbelow their latches,the resultbeing that on these other e needles tuck stitches will be formed in this non-raveling course, the advantage of which is that the fabric here will have a'high degree 'ofelasticity and'will not be subject to breakage. I i I For controlling thefneedlesto make this non-raveling course I divide them just be fore they reach the thread feed sothat only every other needle will rise to clear its loop starts above this point it belowits latch; For this purpose I provide a lowering cam? which is shiftable radially in relation to the needle cylinder, and when this is in its innermost position it lies close to the needle cylinder so that all the needles will be lowered from their normal plane, as indicated by the knitting wave at 0, Fig. 1. For this purpose the cam ring 8 is cut down at 9 so that the needle butts may travel down this incline on the under side of the cam 7. The normal plane of the needle butts is indicated at d. I also providethe cam ring 8 with a pivoted section at 10, this being the portion which, by its inclined edge 11 in ordinary practice during reciprocating knitting, serves to return or lift the needles to their normal plane indicated by the character 05.

' This section is ordinarily rigid and in one with the cam ring 8, but with my improvement it is formed'separately and is pivoted to the main portion of the cam ring at 12. It is under tension of a spring 13 tending to hold it in normal position with its incline 11 in the path of the needles.

As shown in Fig. 3, the main body of the cam is inclined in relation to the needle.

circle, presenting a side at 13 which extends at an inclination to the cam ring 8. The pivot'12 is at the outerend of the cam and out beyond the cam ring 8 and needle butt circle. 7

The movement of the cam inwardly is limited by a tongue or projection 14 at the point of the cam fitting in a recess in the cam ring, the under side of the tongue being inclined inwardly and upwardly, and the recess in the cam ring being formed to correspond. This construction not only provides a stop, but it also provides a flush joint between the point of the cam and the horizontal upper edge of the cam ring for the unobstructed passage of the needle butts jacks 15. These have one length of butts. They are placed under every other needle, in the slots of the cylinder, throughout the entire needle circle. These butts slide in a cam groove 16 in the plate 16*. This cam groove has a A-shaped portion 17 adjacent.

the pivoted section 10 of'the cam ring. The action of the parts is as follows: Supposing the point has been reached in the knitting where it is desired to make the non-raveling course. The inclined radially movable cam 7 is adjusted inwardly one step while the short butt needles. are passing it, it being understoodv that normally this cam isset out beyond the path of the long butts. hen the cam is moved inwardly one step it comes against the end faces of the short butt needles, and in this position it engages over and lowers the long butt needles when they come around, and owing to the short butts having passed the cam, said cam will take another step inward and will now lower these short butt needles when they come around, and thus all the needles throughout thecircle will be lowered by the cam 7 to a point where they would pass the thread feeder A without, taking thread. Every other needle, however, throughout the whole. needle circle, after being lowered as just described is ilnmediately elevated again to its normal plane 01, 'andthis is done by the jacks riding up the cam groove 17 and pushing the needles up, these jacks, as before stated, being under every other needle only. Those needles which are not raised from their retracted position by jacks will pass under the stitch cam t and will be elevated by the central cam 5", instead of, as in the application referred to, passing below this central cam andthrough the way 18, described in said application,

this way being closed in the present embodiment of my invention. The result is that these other needles which are advanced by the central cam 5* will take the yarn from the feeder A but will not be advanced far enough to get their old loops below their latches. Two new loops will therefore be present on these needles, and when these are cast off on a subsequent round, tuck stitches will be formed, thus preventing breakage of this course and making the fabric here more elastic.

All the needles, when lowered by the cam 7, can pass the cam section 10, which, being pivoted as above described, is turned aside by the pressure from the needle butts acting against its side 13 which, as above mentioned, is inclined to the path of said butts. The position of this cam section, when thrown aside, is indicated in Fig. 3 in dotted lines. Those alternate needles which are raised by acks are thereby restored to normal plane d and thus they are in position to be further elevated to take the yarn by the advancing incline 4*.

The. pivoted cam 10 does not perform any function in the above described action. The outwardly swinging movement which itis given is to remove it from obstructing the free travel onward of the lowered needles, and those which are being raised by the cam groove 17. This cam only acts to elevate needles during reciprocating knitting for making the heel andtoe. Therefore, it will be understood that its pivotal mounting is merely for the purpose of allowing it to be pushed aside so that the retired needles and those which have been retired and are now being elevated may pass by it.

It will be observed that in making this non-raveling course alternate needles are operated to knit while the other needles are advanced only far enough to make tuck stitches on this run.

. Inremoving the cam 7 from operation it is withdrawn step by step. Its first outwardv step takes place while it is in engagement with the long butt needles for thesecond time, it requiring one and a half revolutions of the cylinder to. complete the operations above described, though it will be understood that'a number of the described non-raveling courses may be knit if,

the cam unaffected thereby. Its second step movement carries the cam out of the path of the long butt needles, which now, together with the short butt needles, remain in their normal plane for ordinary knitting.

The radially movable cam 7 is operated inwardly by a spring 19, the said cam. having a shank portion 20 sliding in a bracket 21 secured to the machine frame. The cam is retracted outwardly or away from the path of the needle butts by a lever 22 hearing on a pin 23 secured to the shank,,said lever being connected by a rod 24 with a lever 25 pivoted to the frame at 26 and having itsend bearing upon the pattern wheel 27 secured to the pattern drum shaft 8 of the Hemphill patent. Theseconnections are under tension of a spring 28 whichis stronger than the spring 19 and when free to exert its force will overcome the tension of the spring 19 and keep the cam 7 retracted radially outward. I

For setting the cam inwardly the pattern wheel 27 has a long projection 29 which lifts the levers 25 and 22 and allows the spring 19 to act in forcing the cam radiallyinward. The projection 29 is high enough to remove the lever 22 far enough from the pin 23 to allow the cam movement sufficient to carry it up to the cylinder. Its inward movement, however, is step by step, because it first hits against the end faces of the short butt needles but as soon as these have assed I and the long butts begin to ride under the cam then the spring 19will complete the inward movement of the cam to get into the path of the short butt needles. In retracting the cam the pattern wheel is moved one step sufiicient to cause the lever 25 to drop oflf of the long pattern projection 29 and to fall onto the shoulder 30. This allows the spring 28 to retract the cam 7 one step, overcoming in this action the force of the spring 19. The pattern wheel now takes another step in the arrow direction and allows the lever 25 to drop off of the shoulder 30, and this permits the spring 28 to move the cam 7 all the way out to lie outside the path of, all the needle butts, the lever 25 now resting on the periphery of the pattern wheel.

Fromthe above it will be seen that the cycle-ofoperations respecting the cam 7 is as follows: It is moved .in,.while the short butt needles are passing it and consequently, moves in onestep, ltsmovement being l1II1.

ited by coming against the end face of the short butts. When the long butts begin to ride underit,'the short butts having passed and no longer obstructing the inward movement of the cam, said cam, under its spring tension, moves all the way in. It remains in during one and a half revolutionsso that itv lowers all the needles acting to lower the long butt half circle first andthen the short butt half circle. Now, in orderto restore the cam "to its outward position, it will be seen that it can not be "moved outwardly until after all the shortbutt needles have passed the cam and have been lowered. Beforefiall the short butts have passed the cam 7 however, some of the long butts have started under the cam and have been lowered so that it 1s now necessary to lower all of these long butt needles, otherwise they would strike the cam 4 and cause a. smash up. The cam, however, is withdrawn half way out so that it will be in position to lower all the long butts, but will be out of the path of the short'butts, and when these ,come around As they will remain up in normal plane. soon as all the long butts have passed the cam it is given another outward step movement so as to get out of the path of these long buttswhen they come around again. This completes the cycle. I p

Instead of employing jacks for the needles having long tails 31, these being alternated throughout the whole needlelcirclel with needles of ordinary construction, e .,-without these tail portions. I

Cooperating with these long tail needles ring 8*. The needle guide walls of the cylin der are cut away to pass this cam, asshown inFig.-7. p H

. This cam raises every other needle, 6. 6., all the long-tailed. needles so that the same result is secured as in the case of the jacks above described, that is to say, the needles are divided, every alternate needle risingto I mayuseas shown in Figs. 6 and 7 needles;

is the cam 17 on the inner side of thecam take the yarn while the other needles tuck,

The other parts of the mechanism remain the same as thatifirst described including the radially movable cam 7 mounted cam 10.;

- Referring tot-he relative arrangements of the controlling blocks on the pattern drum for operating the yarn feed and the radially movable cam 7 for dividing the needles for making the starting course, I show diagramandthe pivotallgr matically in Fig. .45 the yarn finger A down in feeding position. This yarn finger is controlled by a lever 32 as in the ordinary Banner machine, pivoted at 33 and having its rear arm 84 connected by a link 34* to a lifting lever 35-pivoted at 36 and arranged to lift the yarn finger when a block 37 on the drum comes beneath the lever, all as in ordinary practice. This block 37 moves in unison with the block 29*, 30*, being carried by the same drum. The relation between the blocks 37 and 29 30* and thelevers 32 and 25 is such that the lever 32 is lifted first, resulting in withdrawing the yarn from the needles by lifting the yarn finger A and immediately after the work haseen run off the needles due to thus lifting the yarn finger, the lever 32 falls oii the block 37 and places the yarn in work again by lowering the yarn finger A to the position shown in Fig. 4. This takes place before the block 29' comes under the lever Immediately after the yarn is in work again, however, the said block 29* comes beneath the lever 25, raising it, and thus turning the lever 22 into position to allow the spring 19 to move the cam 7 radially inward, with the result that all the needles are retired by the cam 7; their latches are opened by impact of their butts against the horizontal surface 12, and then alternate needles are elevated either by the jacks or the long tails, so that a starting course of yarn will be laid against these necd1es,and by the action of the web holders the yarn will be sunk, positioning it so that when the other needles rise the yarn will be on the inside of the same and thus the formation of stitches will be started.

The cam 7 is withdrawn outwardly to permit all the needles to rise after one and a. half revolutions have been made by the lever 25 falling off the block 29* onto the step or shoulder 30 and then from this shoulder onto the periphery of the cam wheel.

Other means may be provided for controlling the operation of the dividing cam 7 as in Fig. 10 of the application above described.

I claim as my invention 1. In a. stocking machine and in combination,,stitch and advancin cams, aneedle raising cam between the stitch cams, and means for retiring all the needles to a level below the stitch cam, means for advancing alternate needles to pass above the advancing cam to take the yarn and knit, the other needles passing below the stitch cam and be-.

ing advanced by the raising cam to'take thread but not to clear their loops below their latches, all the needles then passing below the other stitch cam, substantially as described. 7

2. In a stocking knitting machine, and in combination, stitch cam means, restoring cams for raising the needles to normal plane, one of said restoring cams being movably mounted to allow the needles to pass, means for retiring the needles at said movable cam,

means for raising alternate needles, after being retired, to take the yarn, and means for raising the other retired needles to take the yarn but not high enough to get the old loops below the latches.

8. In a stocking knitting machine and in combination, stitch and advancing cams, an upper central guard cam, a central needle raising cam between the stitch cams, means for retiring all the needles before reaching one of the needle advancing cams, means for raising alternate needles to pass over the said advancing cam and take the yarn while all the other needles pass below the corresponding stitch cam and are raised by the central cam part way to take the yarn but not to get their loops below their latches, said actions forming a course of knitting with alternate tuck stitches, substantially as described.

t. In astocking machine, in combination,

means to'lower all of the needles below yarntaking level, means. for advancing selected needles from said level to take the yarn and knit, and means for advancing the other needles to take the yarn but not to clear their loops below their latches.

. 5. In a stocking machine, in combination, means to lower all the needles below yarntaking' level, means for advancing alternate needles from said level to take the yarn and knit, and means for independently advancing the other set of needles to take the yarn but not to clear their loops below their latches.

6. In a stocking machine, in combination, pattern controlled means to move all of the needles to a non-yarn-taking level, means for advancing selected needles from said nonyarn-taking level to take. the yarn and knit, and means for advancing the other needles to take the yarn but not to clear their loops below their latches.

7. In a stocking machine, in combination, means including cams 7 and 17 for dividing the needles and advancing one set thereof to take yarn and knit, and means including the cam 5 adapted independently to advance the other needles to take the yarn but not to clear their loops below their latches.

8; In a stocking machine, in combination, means including cams 7 and 17 for dividing the needles and advancing alternate needles to take yarn and knit, and means including the cam 5 adapted independently to advance the other needles to take the yarn but not to clear their loops below their latches.

9. In a stocking machine and in combination, means for dividing the needles and advancing alternate needles to take the yarn and knit, and means for advancing the other needles to take yarn but not to clear their loops and thereby to tuck, and pattern mechanisms for controlling said dividing means to make an anti-raveling course intermediate the length of the fabric, said dividing means including a lowering cam for all the needles. 10. In a stocking machine and in combina tion, stitch cams, means for retiring all of 5 the needles to a level below the stitch cams, means for advancing alternate needles to pass above the leading stitch cam to take the yarn and knit, the other needles passing be low said leading stitch cam, means for ad- 10 vancing said other needles, after passing the leading stitch cam, to take the thread but not to clear their-loops below their latches, all the needles then passing below the other stitch cam, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature 15 in presence of two witnesses.

. GEORGE P. BOSWORTH. Witnesses:

' JAMES L. Juan, 1

J 01m LAWSON. 

